Methodological Investigations in Agent-Based Modelling: With Applications for the Social Sciences

Description

This open access book examines the methodological complications of using complexity science concepts within the social science domain. The opening chapters take the reader on a tour through the development of simulation methodologies in the fields of artificial life and population biology, then demonstrates the growing popularity and relevance of these methods in the social sciences. Following an in-depth analysis of the potential impact of these methods on social science and social theory, the text provides substantive examples of the application of agent-based models in the field of demography. This work offers a unique combination of applied simulation work and substantive, in-depth philosophical analysis, and as such has potential appeal for specialist social scientists, complex systems scientists, and philosophers of science interested in the methodology of simulation and the practice of interdisciplinary computing research.​ Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiii Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Introduction (Eric Silverman)....Pages 3-15 Simulation and Artificial Life (Eric Silverman)....Pages 17-38 Making the Artificial Real (Eric Silverman)....Pages 39-59 Modelling in Population Biology (Eric Silverman)....Pages 61-81 Front Matter ....Pages 83-83 Modelling for the Social Sciences (Eric Silverman, John Bryden)....Pages 85-106 Analysis: Frameworks and Theories for Social Simulation (Eric Silverman)....Pages 107-123 Schelling’s Model: A Success for Simplicity (Eric Silverman)....Pages 125-144 Conclusions (Eric Silverman)....Pages 145-163 Front Matter ....Pages 165-165 Modelling in Demography: From Statistics to Simulations (Jakub Bijak, Daniel Courgeau, Robert Franck, Eric Silverman)....Pages 167-187 Model-Based Demography in Practice: I (Eric Silverman, Jakub Bijak, Jason Hilton)....Pages 189-210 Model-Based Demography in Practice: II (Eric Silverman, Jason Noble, Jason Hilton, Jakub Bijak)....Pages 211-223 Conclusions (Eric Silverman)....Pages 225-235